


The Light Behind the Shadows

by kai38587



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Childhood Trauma, Darker Than Disney Canon, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Relationships, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:34:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23205529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kai38587/pseuds/kai38587
Summary: Life on the isle was hard. Everyone in Auradon knew and expected that. What they didn't know was the trauma they were causing of innocent children. Mal is about to bring to light what really happens on the Isle of the Lost and why they had to make the decisions that they did. Auradon will learn that things are not just black and white. But what will they do about it?
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I loved the idea of Disney villains having kids and those kids having to decide what is right and wrong. But in my opinion the story needed to be a little darker. If you truly put the most evil people in one spot, there would be more horrendous acts than stealing candy from a baby. This is my darker than Disney version of Descendants. The problems will mostly stay the same but with added dealings of trauma. Warnings, there will be discussion of rape and abuse in this story. I do not go into gory details though.

Mal glanced over her shoulder for the umteenth time that day. Paranoia was your best friend on the isle if you wanted to survive. Especially when you were in the middle of a turf war.

Mal was on her way to meet Evie, Jay, and Carlos at their usual spot; an abandoned bar. It was Gaston’s old place. It closed down when Gaston realized he loved himself more than he loved running a business. He also became a recluse when he found out that no one on the isle was going to stroke his ego for him. While Mal walked, she stayed aware of her surroundings. Anything could be a threat and you never knew when someone might jump you. The isle was a dirty hell hole which made sense since it was designed to be a prison for the most evil people in the world. 

The Island was not a pretty picture but it was the place Mal called home. Even though it stunk, was dirty, and hadn’t seen a sunny day in decades, it was all she had ever known. The people weren't the friendliest but neither was Mal so she knew her way around the system. It was a first come first serve basis whenever shipments came in and the biggest and baddest villains always got first pick. You didn’t want to mess with the top villains and you definitely didn’t want to end up on their bad side. This was why, when you looked around the isle, some of the citizens were wearing better clothes and looked healthier and cleaner. This all had to do with how evil your crimes in the real world had been and how threatening you were on the island.

Mal could only hold on to the reputation of her mother Maleficent for so long before she had to create her own. She knew she would never survive on the isle without proving just how evil and wicked she could be. She perfected her reputation by creating the most notorious VK gang on the isle of the lost. 

Mal created fierce loyalty among her followers. It started out as just Mal and Evie. Although Mal would never admit it, she felt an extreme sense of protectiveness for the other VKs. Villains got bored on the island and often took out their boredom and anger on their own children. Mal had first hand experience with this. 

Maleficent had very high expectations for Mal and there were severe consequences if she didn’t meet them. Maleficent often used Mal to settle her scores with her enemies on the isle and if Mal failed there would be hell to pay. Maleficent’s favorite form of punishment was physical and Mal often had to work to hide the bruises and cigarette burns. If others saw them, it could be a sign of weakness that Mal couldn't afford. Maleficent’s henchmen required payment for their services to her and when Mal could not come up with enough money, Maleficent would sell Mal to them. Mal was tough. She knew how to detach herself in certain situations. She was able to do this when her mother would abuse her and when she was forced to spend the night with one of her mother’s henchmen. This treatment was what Mal had grown used to and by now she knew how to handle it. At least Maleficent didn’t care about where Mal went on her own time and she could often get away for a week at a time, only coming home when her mother summoned her.

Mal thought Evie always had it worse though. Mal only needed to be home when Maleficent needed her for something so she often stayed away as long as she could. But Evie’s mother was constantly checking in on Evie. Evie had a two way mirror that her mother used to stay in contact with her. Mal always assumed that Maleficent was able to use some forbidden magic on the isle, nothing too strong. She gave this mirror to the Evil Queen as a gift and in return the Evil Queen gave Maleficent her alliance.

The Evil Queen was the Madam of the isle’s most popular brothel and Evie was being groomed to be her mother’s star player. Mal felt nauseous every time she thought about what would happen when Evie turned 18. Mal took Evie under her wing the first time she saw the Evil Queen slap Evie across the face for smiling too big. That was when they were 10 and they’d been good friends ever since. The Evil Queen often wasn’t physical with Evie, not wanting to cause scars or blemishes. Evie was the Evil Queen’s most prized possession. The real torture came in lessons on how to charm and pleasure a man; to get as much money out of him as you can in a certain amount of time. By the time Evie was of age, it was either accomplish this task or you were out on the street and defenceless to the cruelty of the isle. 

All of this took its toll on Evie and she found comfort in her friendship with Mal. Mal encouraged Evie to get into fashion, bringing her the best fabrics she could find on the island. Mal knew this was Evie’s way of coping with the life she had been dealt. 

Carlos was the next to join their group. Mal found Carlos two years after she met Evie. She had first seen him begging a street vendor for a fur coat. Apparently his mother, Cruella De Vil, had given him a certain amount of money for the coat but it wasn’t enough compared to what the vendor was charging. High price items like furs were very hard to come by and no one was just going to be giving that away. The whole thing seemed silly to Mal considering the fur was probably fake. There were no animals on the island and if it came from one of the Auradon shipments it was definitely fake because those goody two shoes would never skin an animal for fashion. At first Mal scoffed at how weak the boy looked begging. Doesn't he know that kind of thing can get him killed? It wasn’t until later, when she found him in an alley crying and shaking uncontrollably that she knew something had to be done for him. She made sure no one was looking and dropped a wallet full of cash near where the boy had been crouched. When he looked up at her, she pretended not to notice and got out of there as quickly as she could.

The next day, she had been walking by that very same alley when someone had pulled her inside. Mal drew her knife, ready to defend herself. Carlos had been the one to grab her but when he saw the knife he cowered away begging her not to hurt him. When Mal noticed that it was the boy from the day before, she pocketed the knife. Mal grabbed the boy, pulling him to a standing position and demanded an explanation for why he touched her without her permission. The boy meekly introduced himself as Carlos and thanked her for the money she gave him the day before. He explained that she saved him an extra beating that night for not fulfilling his errands. 

Mal knew that she needed to bring this boy into her group. She knew Evie would be kind to him and would show him the love that he was clearly lacking at home. She also knew she needed to teach him how to toughen up and respect people’s personal space. His attitude and demeanor were going to get him killed on this island. Mal was their protector; defending them and providing revenge to anyone who wronged them.

Three years later was when they found Jay. It was actually Carlos that found Jay first. They had all heard of Jay, a notorious thief, son of Jafar. Over the past couple years, Mal had taught Carlos how to defend himself better in case anyone tried to jump or mug him. This all came to a head the day Jay attempted to mug Carlos. 

For the most part Jay had worked alone. He never associated with any of the local gangs and he kept to himself. That way he could keep all of the profits and never had to worry about working with a team. Jay’s thievery was his only means of survival on the island. Jafar had never been the fatherly type, I mean none of the villains were very parental. But, jafar had basically abandoned Jay by the time he could walk and talk. Jay had learned to pickpocket just to keep himself from starving. By the time he was 15, he was an expert. Sleeping where he could find vacant beds, often with women he had just met. Jay had a bit of a reputation of being a player but Mal knew it was usually because he needed a place to stay. He wouldn’t sleep with the women if he didn’t have to. That had only been necessary a couple of times. Because of his father, Jay had trust issues and it was why he preferred to be alone. He also had to be careful though of who he stole from because of the loyalty of gang members. He had made these mistakes before and paid for them in the form of a physical assault, leaving him bruised and beat up. Over the years he had learned how to defend himself and had bulked up. This made him even more popular with the ladies and only enhanced his reputation. 

The day he jumped Carlos for his wallet though, was the day he found what he never knew he was looking for. Jay thought that he had been pretty quick about the pick pocketing of the white haired boy. He was the best around, but Carlos was faster and had grabbed Jay’s arm and drawn a knife toward his abdomen. A signature move he had learned from Mal. Jay had been surprised and thrown off by this, not expecting something so bold from such a scrawny boy. Carlos had stated calmly, “You’ll wanna give that back.” As he said this, Jay noticed a girl with blue hair coming towards them on one side and a girl with purple hair approaching from the other side. Mal knew that Jay immediately recognized her as Maleficent’s daughter. Jay had just realized he messed with the wrong kid.

Mal had been wanting to get Jay on her side of the never ending turf war and knew this would be her chance. She had been keeping an eye on Jay and this whole situation with Carlos had actually been her plan all along. She knew Jay would never be able to resist taking advantage of someone who looked as innocent as Carlos did. Mal offered him a peace offering. If he worked with them and their gang, she would provide him with a place to sleep and food to eat. Jay was wary, not easily trusting people but he could sense when he was being set up. He wasn’t an idiot and he knew that Mal had been tracking him. This approach did not come as a surprise to him, but he had seen how Mal treated her followers and he had just witnessed their intense protectiveness of each other. Jay had been getting tired of being alone. He agreed to a trial basis just to see if they could be more successful as a group. 

Slowly, the four of them became inseparable. For almost two years, they schemed together ruling the Western side of the island. They trusted each other and protected each other. When their parents became too much or they needed healing they would seek each other out. They became the family that none of them knew they needed. Their gang also gained a reputation that no one wanted to mess with. They worked well together. Evie would usually be their distraction, Jay was their muscle in case anything went wrong or someone needed to be shook down. Carlos was quick, quiet and usually unnoticed so he could usually get in and out of places easily. Mal was their leader, the planner, and their brutal protector. When something needed to be done that was too much for the other, Mal took care of it. Always wanting to spare them the extra trauma. She would kill for those three if she had to. 

The four of them had become settled. They knew what to expect and they were trained and prepared for anything the isle could throw at them. When things got too bad they had each other to support them. Life was as good as it could get on the isle of the lost. But, little did they know that all the way across the sea, their futures were being decided for them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story will pretty much start off the same as the movie but as we move along it will develop into it's own story. Warning for mentions of abuse.

Crown Prince Ben was always going to be worried about living in his father’s shadow. His father, King Adam, was the great King who brought together kingdoms and created the United States of Auradon. King Adam founded Auradon Prep so that the children of Auradon could come together to learn and create community with one another. King Adam created peace in the kingdoms and one of the things he did to achieve was by exiling all of the villains to one tiny island of the coast of Auradon. With the help of Fairy Godmother, the island was sealed off so that no one could leave or use magic while they were there.

Ben was turning 17 years old in two months and was going to be crowned King of Auradon. As part of his preparation, he needed to announce his first royal proclamation. This proclamation would set the foundation for what kind of king, Ben would be.  
Ben had a fairly good childhood. He was well loved by both Belle and Adam. He was taught to be brave, strong, kind, and thoughtful. He knew though that he lived a privileged life and much of what was given to him was because of his position of power. Despite the position Ben was born into, he still sought to be kind and gentle in all situations. He took his duty as future King of Auradon very seriously and he promised to always protect the people of Auradon.

One thing Queen Belle and King Adam made sure to instill in Ben was the philosophy that every person had a capacity for kindness. Ben felt a sense of responsibility over all people of Auradon and this included the Isle of the Lost. He knew that as a teenager, he couldn’t do much to reform the villains on the island but he could help their children.

Most of Auradon knew that the villains had been breeding over on the island and raising children just as they had. But the people of Auradon felt no mercy towards those children for they were the offspring of villains and evil was in their blood. Most people of Auradon saw the world as black and white, good and evil.

Ben knew this type of thinking could never move the world along. They could never evolve and become better people if their ideas were so rigid. Ben wanted his legacy to be the King who created a union between Auradon and the Isle of the Lost. He would never disrespect his father so much as to say exiling the villains was a mistake but now that there was peace in Auradon, it was time for a change.

____________________________________________________________

Ben made his way to the throne room. He had invited all of the royal officials of the neighboring kingdoms to announce his first proclamation as king. This was a momentous occasion and all were overjoyed to share in celebration with their soon to be king.

Ben waited anxiously on the other side of the grand double doors. He heard the sound of trumpets, announcing his arrival. The doors swung open and instantly the camaras of the paparazzi and reporters flashed in his face. Everyone was eager for this press conference.

“Prince Ben, how are you feeling with coronation being only two months away?”  
“Prince Ben, there were rumors that you and Audrey broke up, are they true?”  
“Prince Ben, is it true that you are dropping out of Auradon prep to focus on your royal duties?”  
“Prince Ben! Prince Ben! Prince Ben!”

The reporters questions were frantically hurled at him but Ben had been trained from an early age to not let them affect him. He never let the ridiculous rumors faze him and always tried to keep a neutral face, focusing on why he was really there.

Ben stepped up to the podium, ready to change the future of Auradon. “Thank you all for coming today. I know many of you are anxious to hear what my first proclamation is going to be. I want to start by saying this is something I am very passionate about. As future King of Auradon, I am responsible for the protection and well being of all of Auradon’s citizens. This includes those on the Isle of the Lost.” At this, the crowd collectively gasped. Ben found this foolish considering this had always been the case.

He continued, despite the interruption. “For a long time, I have felt that the children of the villains on the isle have been unfairly discriminated against. No one has ever given them a chance.” At this statement, there were nervous whispers and glances circling the room. “That is why I have decided my first proclamation will be inviting four kids from the isle to attend Auradon Prep this coming school year.”

Heated whispers turned into shouts of dissent. It was clear the people of Auradon did not agree with Ben’s views.

“You can’t do this! You’ll be putting all of us in danger! Please Prince Ben! Think this through!”

Ben patiently waited for the crowd to settle. He expected this reaction. Even Ben’s parents, behind him, were in shock and giving each other worried glances. This had come as a surprise to them. Audrey, Ben’s girlfriend, had been standing off to the side and when she heard this announcement she had reached out for him, trying to reason with him. “Ben, dear, I don’t think this is such a good idea.” Ben brushed her off.

When the crowd had calmed down from the initial shock Ben forged on. “I want everyone to know that this is not an impulsive decision I have made and it has in fact been well thought through. We need to do what right for these kids. They deserve all of the opportunities that we have been given here in Auradon. I have selected the four students who I know will need the most help. The son of Cruella Devil. The daughter of the Evil Queen. The son of Jafar and,” Ben paused, surveying the panicked looks across the crowd. “The daughter of Maleficent.”

There were multiple shrieks heard across the throne room and cameras started to flash again. The guards around the room tried their best to calm people down. Ben understood their alarm. He knew that it was going to take time for people to understand where he was coming from. Ben’s hope was that he could eventually convince the kingdom to be as excited for this new plan as he was.

But as their future king, it was his job to put their minds at ease. “I want to remind you that they are not their parents and they should not be paying the price for their sins. I would never do anything to put our kingdom in danger and this plan has been combed through by many of my advisors. Everyone will be perfectly safe!” Ben assured.

Ben winced, preparing himself for the tsunami of questions and the blinding glare of camera flashes. “I will now be open for questions.”

____________________________________________________________________________

The four villain kids were all hanging out in Gaston’s old abandoned bar. The place had been their sanctuary for the past 6 years. It hadn’t much of a secret for very long but people were too afraid of the group to mess with it. The old bar was littered with stuff they could never bring home for fear of their parents using it against them or becoming too soft. Jay had his skateboards and various objects he used for workout equipment. Evie’s fabrics and sewing machine were set up behind the bar, with sketches of different outfits and styles hung around the area. Carlos had been really getting into technology so various circuit boards and old computer parts were set up all over the place. The whole group worked to steal whatever they could find for him to tinker with.

Every wall or solid surface in the bar were covered in graffiti tags custom designed by Mal. She had spent years perfecting each one so she could brighten the isle with them. There were also portraits of each of them that Mal had carefully created. She wanted their mark to be on the place as well. This place was theirs and no one could take it away from them.

Mal looked up and observed as Jay was practicing skateboard tricks on the old tables and chairs, Carlos was seated in the middle of the bar working on his project that he had started with Dr. Syndrome. Syndrome was the best technology professor on the isle and Carlos had become his sort of apprentice. Mal and Evie were sitting on top of the bar back to back, each working on their own individual sketch.

Evie’s mirror flashed with a message from her mother. Letting out an irritated sigh, she picked it up. “Shit, my mom needs me to come home. Ugh and I wanted to finish this,” Evie sighed. Mal turned around and reached for the sketch, “Let me see. Purple, nice! This one for me?” Evie responded, “Maybe… if I can ever finish it.” She took the sketch back and jumped off the bar.“I gotta go. I’ll be facing hell if I’m late again.” She made her way to the door. “Wait up, we can walk together,” Mal called out.

As they walked out, they nearly crashed into one of Maleficent's henchmen. “Fuck,” Mal swore, hating being caught off guard. Her mother’s lackeys were usually pretty idiotic but they were a force to be reckoned with. This one in particular towered over the girls. His eyes wandered up and down Mal’s body creepily, lingering in unwanted places. Mal looked away in disgust, knowing that if she did anything about it she would have to pay for it later.

“Did you need something?” Mal spat out. The man’s eyes returned to her face and he smirked. “Your mother wants to see you. Said to bring your little friends.” He eyed Evie. “Her too.”

If Maleficent wanted to see all of them, Mal knew this couldn’t be good.  
____________________________________________________________________________

When they walked into Maleficent’s lair, she was flipping through some old book. Mal was surprised to see Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella De Vil, and even Jafar in the same room together. Most of these villains didn’t even get along so to see them willingly being in the same room, Mal knew something big must be happening. I mean, it took a lot to get Jafar to even slightly care about what Jay was up to.

Maleficent turned around and spoke up, “I have some promising news for you four!” This strangely positive attitude was making Mal nervous. It was uncommon for her mother to look excited about something. She usually had a permanent scowl etched onto her face, especially when it came to Mal who always seemed to be constantly disappointing her.

“We have just been informed that the four of you have been chosen to attend Auradon Prep over on the mainland!” Was this some sort of joke? Was it some new form of torture their parents had come up with? ‘ _Make them think there is some good in the world. Give them a tiny sliver of hope then pull the rug out from under them._ ’ Mal felt suspicious and knew to never trust their parents at face value.

Her mother looked hurt and baffled, “What? Why such blank faces? Do you think we’re lying to you?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time.” Carlos muttered under his breath.

“You don’t talk to me that way, boy!” Cruella challenged. She made a move towards him, not standing for any type of disrespect. Mal stepped between them trying to calm the situation. “I think we’re just a little confused. This has to be some kind of joke.”

Maleficent affirmed, “I assure you my devilish girl, this is no joke. We just got the letter with the official royal seal.” She chuckled at the other villains.

The four teenagers tried to keep a neutral face so as not to reveal what they were thinking to their parents. The whole situation smelt like shit and they knew there was going to be a catch.

“So what’s the catch? There’s no way in hell you would just let go of your little slaves. The whole island knows we do your dirty work for you.” Jay challenged, knowing he was the only one who could confront the four villains without serious repercussions.

Maleficent narrowed her eyes. “You’re right.” Everyone in the room seemed shocked that Maleficent would give in so easily. She continued, “It will be unfortunate losing the four of you. You may be a pain in the ass most of the time but you do prove to be useful now and then.” Dread filled the four teens minds.

The villains all gathered around their descendants. “We have come up with a plan for how the four of you can finally make up for all of the pain you have put us through. And if you fail, it _will_ be the end of your miserable little lives.”


End file.
